Deal!
by scriberated
Summary: Killian and Henry watch Peter Pan and have a heart-to-heart.


**A/N: Killian and Henry watch Peter Pan, and have a heart to heart. daddy!hook implied.  
**

* * *

Killian glared at the ceiling of the apartment's living room, his arms crossed over his chest. His booted-foot was propped up in the coffee table, motionless as the doctor ordered. The final battle with Cora as he, Emma, Snow, Aurora, and Mulan escaped to Storybrooke hadn't gone quite as well as they'd hoped. They all survived, to be sure, but he had been injured in the process - specifically, the landing process. Fell at the wrong angle and broke his leg. As a result, he had been laid up for close to two weeks now. Most days, he hardly complained - hardly dared to since he wasn't in a condition to skin his crocodile just yet, and Emma was very attentive to his needs. Though she never apologized for leaving him chained in the Giant's castle, she was an open book to him, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Her tender care of him was her way of apologizing, a way to relieve her guilt.

This was fine by him; he had little else to do, and certainly hadn't given up on his charming blonde yet. She continued to intrigue him, and this provided ample opportunity to get further under her skin. It was slow going, what with her parents - he still hadn't adjusted to that information yet - giving him death glares every time they spoke to each other, but it _was_ going. The other opportunity his affliction caused was the opportunity to bond with Henry. He had been reluctant at first, having little experience with children in general, but had grown significantly more relaxed as the weeks progressed. Henry was clearly a kindred spirit - the boy had the air of a pirate, a lad craving adventure, and Killian could certainly relate. And, though Killian would never admit to using the lad to get closer to his mother, bonding with the child certainly cleared a path between him and Emma.

Today, the child had no school and had elected to stay home and "hang out" with him. Henry had been insisting for some weeks about watching "Peter Pan", which was apparently the fairytale that introduced him into this world. Killian had been curious. He wanted to understand Emma's confusion when she first met him, as to what exactly she had been expecting when she met him. This was his first opportunity. Henry returned from the kitchen with a large bowl of popcorn, which he set between them, and used the remote to turn on the television. He cringed when the sound blared, and blinked a few times to adjust to what he was seeing. He still wasn't used to the objects of this world, particularly ones that made such racket. After a moment or two, his eyesight and ears adjusted and Killian found the experience to be quite relaxing.

_"Cinderella flew through the air, far from all things ugly and ordinary..."_

Killian raised an eyebrow. The lass was certainly describing his crew quite aptly - Bill Dukes, certainly.

_"And, cruelest of them all: Hook! With eyes blue as forget-me-nots, save when he clawed your belly, with the iron hook he has instead of a right hand. At which time, his eyes turn red."_

Killian snorted at the theatricality, but reminded himself that this was essentially a stage performance. His lips turned downwards for a moment, unhappy with their portrayal of him being cruel. He shook himself out of his thoughts and refocused his attention on the movie.

_"Come here you!"_

"Henry, what on Earth is that child doing?"

Henry paused the movie. "His shadow escaped, so now Peter has to go back and get it."

"...The lad's shadow escaped?" Well that was perfectly ridiculous. Shadows escaping! Honestly.

"Yep." Henry affirmed, starting the movie once more.

_"Don't have a mother."_

And there was the whole sodding story of every child to ever walk the sandy beaches of Neverland. No family, defiant of needing or wanting one, determined to simply ignored it.

_"Wendy... one girl is worth twenty boys."_

_"You really think so?"_

_Peter smirked._

Killian chuckled; that was the same type of charm he himself used. And, as the 'movie' portrayed, it worked quite well. Except on stubborn blondes. This thought made Killian frown for a moment, sighing. Emma was being quite stubborn about admitting that there was something between them, seemed quite keen to deny it in fact. Of course, Killian knew that this undoubtedly had something to do with the betrayal she had suffered, but it still irked him that she was trying so hard to deny what was right in front of her.

_"Forget them, Wendy, forget them all! Come with me where you'll never, never have to worry about grown-up things again." Peter whispered in Wendy's ear._

_"Never is an awfully long time," Wendy replied, turning to look at him._

How he wished Emma would succumb as easily. Killian paused at that thought then shook his he head. That wasn't right at all. Part of the reason he was enamored with her was because she didn't fall prey to his charms. Still, she could ease up on her obstinacy just a _little_.

_"I was dreaming, Smee, of Pan."_

_"Pan, Cap'n?"_

_"And in my dream, I was a magnanimous fellow. Full of forgiveness. I thanked Pan for cutting of my hand, and for giving me this fine hook for disembowling, and ripping throats, and other such homely uses."_

"Oh, come on!" Killian cried, glaring at the box. "Lad, you can't seriously mean to tell me that this is the man I am known to be in this world."

Henry paused the movie, looking thoughtful. "Actually, this is one of the better versions. It's easier to sympathize with this version."

Killian shuddered. "You mean there's more than one of these monstrosities about?"

"Several," Henry replied.

"And do any of them portray me as an honorable man?"

"Not really," Henry replied, shaking his head after a moment.

"Well that's rubbish! I refuse to watch any more of this! Why would anyone watch this tripe?" Killian growled.

"Because," Henry began, his voice growing quiet. "Sometimes fantasy is better than reality. Sometimes you get stuck knowing things you shouldn't, and your life changes completely and there's nothing you can do to un-know what you know - and it's enough to make you feel completely alone."

Killian looked at the boy out of the corner of his eye, noting the serious and sad expression. It was the first time that Killian had ever seen Emma in the child. The child was certainly clever enough, and Killian had _heard_ Emma in the boy's voice before, but he had never seen it. Now he could. He could see the shape of Emma's eyes, the shape of her lips, the long eyelashes... All too apparent when the boy looked as forlorn as his mother did.

"You're hardly without a mother lad," Killian reminded him gently. "Emma would move heaven and Earth to be at your side."

"Yeah, I know," Henry nodded, acknowledging Killian's point. "But I didn't have her until a few months ago. I've spent the past five years knowing that this town was cursed, knowing who my mother was, and being completely unable to do anything about it. My mom sent me to therapy when I was six years old to try and change the fact that I knew the truth! She spent five years making me think I was crazy!"

"Parents do what they think is best, lad, and it doesn't always turn out to be that way - but they try."

"Parent," Henry corrected, looking away. "I don't have a dad."

"Trust me lad, they're not all they're cracked up to be." Killian said, thinking of his own father, the drunk. "But if you're so curious, why not ask Emma?"

"I didn't say I was curious," Henry said, his tone defensive.

Ah. There Emma was again. Killian merely looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

Henry shifted uncomfortably, looking down. "I did ask her, once. She told me my dad was a firefighter, that she hadn't known him well, and that he died trying to save a family in a fire. She lied about everything."

For someone who was supposed to be a paragon of justice and all that is good in the world, Emma did a great many immoral things, Killian mused.

"I know she did what she thought was best," Henry said, effectively cutting Killian off. "I know that my father probably wasn't a good person, or a hero, and she didn't want me to be disappointed. But I still wish I knew, and I still wish I had a dad. I mean, it's not like it really matters, but I don't have anyone to teach me how to talk to girls or anything! Gramps is great, don't get me wrong, but his idea of flirting was to booby-trap my grandmother and then guilt her into helping him."

Henry shook his head. "And somehow, I don't think that will fly here."

Killian laughed heartily, shaking his head. "No, I would venture a guess not. But there's really nothing to it - it's a lot easier than you think."

Henry looked at him skeptically.

"Have no fears lad - I'll teach you how to talk to women."

Henry seemed to perk up, a mischievous smile lighting his features. "And how to swordfight? And play cards?"

Killian pretended to consider it. "So, you want me to teach you to be a pirate?"

Henry paused to think about it before nodding. "I guess so, yeah!"

"Well, alright mate, but you have to teach me something too."

"What?" Henry asked, frowning quizically.

"How to talk to your mother." Killian replied, smiling.

Henry grinned and held out his hand. "Deal!"


End file.
